Sensitive webpage content detection

ABSTRACT

Computer-readable media, systems, and methods for sensitive webpage content detection are described. In embodiments, a multi-class classifier is developed and one or more webpages with webpage content are received. In various embodiments, the one or more webpages are analyzed with the multi-class classifier and, in various embodiments, a sensitivity level is predicted that is associated with the webpage content of the one or more webpages. In various other embodiments, the multi-class classifier includes one or more sensitivity categories.

BACKGROUND

Online advertising has advanced beyond an obscure theory and into anextremely viable advertising outlet. Advertisers are willing to investhuge amounts of financial resources in an attempt to reach consumersmore effectively. Emerging techniques aim to target advertisements tospecific interest groups of potential customers. For instance,content-based advertising analyzes the content of a webpage that aparticular online user is interacting with and, based upon the contentof the webpage, directs advertisements to the online user. Basically,when an online user visits a webpage, a content-based advertising systemwill extract key terms or phrases from the page and deliver relevantadvertisements to the online user in real-time. As an example, acontent-based advertising system may intend to direct sports utilityvehicle (SUV) advertisements to users reading about SUVs. Wherever theterm SUV exists within the content of a webpage, the content-basedadvertising system is able to deliver a targeted SUV advertisement tothe online user.

Unfortunately, some webpages include sensitive content that traditionalcontent-based advertising systems are ill-suited to account for, causingthe advertising system to deliver relevant but undesired advertisements,adversely affecting an advertiser's campaign. More specifically,content-based advertising systems lack an effective sensitivity measurethat will intercept advertisements where they may be inappropriate. Aneffective sensitivity measure may also allow for specifically directedadvertising opportunities in some circumstances that have thus-far notbeen taken advantage of. For example, where an online user is reading anews article about a recall of a particular automaker's SUVs,content-based advertising systems might recognize the term SUV in thearticle and display an advertisement for the recalling automaker. Itwould be extremely valuable for an automaker to avoid such anembarrassingly inappropriate advertisement. A competitor automaker mayalso consider it quite valuable to direct one of its own advertisementsto an online user reading such an article. The exemplary deficiencies ofcontent-detection techniques are not limited to an automobile context.For instance, a beer or liquor manufacturer will likely not want todisplay an advertisement in an article discussing drunk driving.Similarly, many advertisers may wish to avoid display of advertisementsaltogether on a webpage appealing to prurient interest. Because of thelack of content sensitivity, however, advertisers miss various lucrativeadvertising opportunities and advertisers are subject to potentiallyembarrassing and counter-productive displays of their advertisements.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention relate to computer-readable media,systems, and methods for sensitive webpage content detection. Inembodiments, a multi-class classifier is developed and one or morewebpages with webpage content are received. Additionally, inembodiments, the one or more webpages are analyzed with the multi-classclassifier. Further, in embodiments, the sensitivity level associatedwith the webpage content of the one or more webpages is predicted. Inembodiments, the multi-class classifier includes sensitivity categoriesto be associated with the one or more webpages based upon thesensitivity of the content of the one or more webpages.

It should be noted that this Summary is provided to generally introducethe reader to one or more select concepts described below in theDetailed Description in a simplified form. This Summary is not intendedto identify key and/or required features of the claimed subject matter,nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of theclaimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in detail below with reference to theattached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing system environmentsuitable for use in implementing the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system for sensitivewebpage content detection, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for sensitivewebpage content detection, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for sensitivewebpage content detection, the method having more detail than the methodof FIG. 3, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for sensitivewebpage content detection utilizing sensitivity categories, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter of the present invention is described withspecificity herein to meet statutory requirements. However, thedescription itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent.Rather, the inventors have contemplated that the claimed subject mattermight also be embodied in other ways, to include different steps orcombinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document, inconjunction with other present or future technologies. Moreover,although the terms “step” and/or “block” may be used herein to connotedifferent elements of methods employed, the terms should not beinterpreted as simplifying a particular order among or between varioussteps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individualsteps is explicitly described.

Embodiments of the present invention provide computer readable media,systems, and methods for sensitive webpage content detection. In variousembodiments, a multi-class classifier is developed, one or more webpageswith webpage content is received and analyzed with the multi-classclassifier. Further, in various embodiments, the sensitivity levelassociated with the webpage content of the one or more webpages ispredicted. While embodiments discussed herein refer to communicationsbetween system components on a public network such as via the Internet,it will be understood and appreciated by one of ordinary skill in theart that embodiments are not limited to a public network or a particularnetwork type. For example, other embodiments may communicate betweencomponents via a private network.

Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention is directed to acomputer-implemented method for sensitive webpage content detection. Themethod includes developing a multi-class classifier and receiving one ormore webpages with webpage content. The method further includesanalyzing the one or more webpages with the multi-class classifier.Further, the method includes predicting a sensitivity level associatedwith the webpage content of the one or more webpages.

In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a computerizedsystem for sensitive webpage content detection. The system includes anoffline module configured to develop a multi-class classifier and anonline module configured to analyze one or more webpages includingwebpage content and further configured to predict a sensitivity levelassociated with the webpage content of the one or more webpages.Further, the system includes a database for storing information from theoffline module and the online module.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention is directed to one ormore computer readable media having instructions embodied thereon that,when executed, perform a method for sensitive webpage content detection.The method includes developing a multi-class classifier with one or moresensitivity categories and receiving one or more webpages with webpagecontent. The method further includes associating the one or morewebpages with one or more of the one or more sensitivity categories bycomputing an association probability between the one or more webpagesand the one or more sensitivity categories. Further, the method includescomputing a confidence score based upon the association probabilitybetween the one or more webpages and the one or more sensitivitycategories and predicting a webpage sensitivity.

Having briefly described an overview of embodiments of the presentinvention, an exemplary operating environment is described below.

Referring to the drawing figures in general, and initially to FIG. 1 inparticular, an exemplary operating environment for implementingembodiments of the present invention is shown and designated generallyas computing device 100. Computing device 100 is but one example of asuitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest alimitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention.Neither should the computing device 100 be interpreted as havingdependency or requirement relating to any one or combination ofcomponents illustrated.

Embodiments of the present invention may be described in the generalcontext of computer code or machine-usable instructions, includingcomputer-executable instructions such as program modules, being executedby a computer or other machine, such as a personal data assistant orother handheld device. Generally, program modules including routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like, refer tocode that performs particular tasks or implements particular abstractdata types. Embodiments of the invention may be practiced in a varietyof system configurations, including, but not limited to, hand-helddevices, consumer electronics, general purpose computers, specialtycomputing devices, and the like. Embodiments of the invention may alsobe practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules may be located in association with both local and remotecomputer storage media including memory storage devices. The computeruseable instructions form an interface to allow a computer to reactaccording to a source of input. The instructions cooperate with othercode segments to initiate a variety of tasks in response to datareceived in conjunction with the source of the received data.

Computing device 100 includes a bus 110 that directly or indirectlycouples the following elements: memory 112, one or more processors 114,one or more presentation components 116, input/output (I/O) ports 118,I/O components 120, and an illustrative power supply 122. Bus 110represents what may be one or more busses (such as an address bus, databus, or combination thereof). Although the various blocks of FIG. 1 areshown with lines for the sake of clarity, in reality, delineatingvarious components is not so clear, and metaphorically, the lines wouldmore accurately be gray and fuzzy. For example, one may consider apresentation component such as a display device to be an I/O component.Also, processors have memory. Thus, it should be noted that the diagramof FIG. 1 is merely illustrative of an exemplary computing device thatmay be used in connection with one or more embodiments of the presentinvention. Distinction is not made between such categories as“workstation,” “server,” “laptop,” “hand held device,” etc., as all arecontemplated within the scope of FIG. 1 and reference to the term“computing device.”

Computing device 100 typically includes a variety of computer-readablemedia. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable mediamay comprise Random Access Memory (RAM); Read Only Memory (ROM);Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM); flashmemory or other memory technologies; CDROM, digital versatile disks(DVD) or other optical or holographic media; magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or various other mediums that can be used to encode desired informationand be accessed by computing device 100.

Memory 112 includes computer storage media in the form of volatileand/or nonvolatile memory. The memory may be removable, nonremovable, ora combination thereof. Exemplary hardware devices include solid statememory, hard drives, optical disc drives, and the like. Computing device100 includes one or more processors that read from various entities suchas memory 112 or I/O components 120. Presentation component(s) 116present data indications to a user or other device. Exemplarypresentation components include a display device, speaker, printingcomponent, vibrating component, and the like.

I/O ports 118 allow computing device 100 to be logically coupled toother devices including I/O components 120, some of which may be builtin. Illustrative components include a microphone, joystick, game pad,satellite dish, scanner, printer, wireless device, etc.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a block diagram is provided illustrating anexemplary system 200 for sensitive webpage content detection, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The system 200includes a database 202, a sensitive webpage content detection engine204, and a user interface 208 in communication with one another via anetwork 206. Network 206 may include, without limitation, one or morelocal area networks (LANs) and/or wide area networks (WANs). Suchnetworking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-widecomputer networks, intranets, and the Internet. Accordingly, network 206is not further described herein.

Database 202 is configured to store information associated with thesensitive webpage content detection environment. In various embodiments,such information may include, without limitation, sensitivitycategories, sensitivity subcategories, multi-class classifierinformation, webpage information, association information involvingwebpages and sensitivity categories and subcategories, advertisementinformation, parental control information, forum information and web-log(hereinafter “blog”) information. It will be understood and appreciatedby those of ordinary skill in the art that the information stored indatabase 202 may be configurable and may include various informationrelevant to sensitive webpage content detection. The content and/orvolume of such information are not intended to limit the scope ofembodiments of the present invention in any way. Further, thoughillustrated as a single, independent component, database 202 may, infact, be a plurality of databases, for instance, a database cluster,portions of which may reside on a computing device associated withsensitive webpage content detection engine 204, associated with userinterface 208, on another external computing device (not shown), or anycombination thereof.

User interface 208 may be a type of computing device, such as computingdevice 100 described with reference to FIG. 1, for example, and includesat least one presentation component 210. Presentation component 210 isconfigured to present (e.g. display) information associated withsensitive webpage content detection engine 204. For example, withoutlimitation, the information may be a news article viewed by an Internetbrowser, along with advertisement information targeted to the articlebased upon the content of the article. In this example, withoutlimitation, where the news article includes sensitive content, variousadvertisements may not be displayed.

Sensitive webpage content detection engine 204 may be a type ofcomputing device, such as computing device 100 described with referenceto FIG. 1, and includes an offline module 212 and an online module 214.Further, sensitive webpage content detection engine 204 is configured tooperate utilizing at least a portion of the information stored indatabase 202. In various embodiments, without limitation, sensitivewebpage content detection engine 204 may be used, in conjunction withcontent-based advertising, to determine in real-time whether a webpagecontains sensitive content and to determine appropriate advertisementsbased upon the sensitivity determination. By way of example, withoutlimitation, where content of a webpage involves a recall of a certainautomaker's SUVs, sensitive webpage content detection engine 204 may beused to recognize the sensitivity of the webpage content and, inconjunction with content-based advertising, target advertisements foranother automaker's SUVs to be displayed on the webpage. As anotherexample, without limitation, where content of a webpage involves a drunkdriving incident, sensitive webpage content detection engine 204 may beused to recognize the sensitivity of the webpage content and, inconjunction with content-based advertising, ensure that beer or liquoradvertisements are not displayed in association with the webpage. As yetanother example, sensitive webpage content detection engine 204 may beused to recognize time-dependent sensitivity that requires customizationof an advertisement delivery system to target particular time-sensitiveadvertisements. For instance, where content of a webpage involves arecent natural disaster, such as shortly after the devastating tsunamiin South-East Asia occurred, content engine 204 may be used to recognizethe time-sensitive nature of the content and target advertisements, suchas relief efforts, for association with the advertisement. As will beunderstood and appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art,sensitive webpage content detection engine 204 will have variousadvertising utilities including, but not limited to, deliveringspecifically targeted advertisements, delivering time-sensitiveadvertisements, changing the degree of tolerance depending upon businessrequirements, and creating a new pricing scheme based upon sensitivewebpage content detection.

Further, as will be understood and appreciated by one of ordinary skillin the art, sensitive webpage content detection engine 204 may be usedin conjunction with various other applications to enhance functionality.For example, without limitation, sensitive webpage content detectionengine 204 may be used in conjunction with a parental controlapplication to provide a control mechanism for the type of contentdisplayed based on a sensitivity determination of webpage content. Asanother example, without limitation, sensitive webpage content detectionengine 204 may be used in conjunction with a blog or forum to controlthe content of posts submitted by visitors to the blog or forum. Thus,sensitive webpage content detection engine 204 may be used in a varietyof capacities in which webpage sensitivity information is desired.

Offline module 212 is configured to develop a multi-class classifierand, in various embodiments, includes an offline defining component 216,an offline gathering component 218, an offline extracting component 220,an offline weight computing component 222, and an offline determiningcomponent 224. In various embodiments, without limitation, the offlinemodule 212 develops a multi-class classifier and trains the multi-classclassifier before sensitive webpage content detection engine 204 beginsusing the online module 214. Stated differently, for online module 214of sensitive webpage content detection engine 204 to functioneffectively, in various embodiments, offline module 212 may develop andtrain a multi-class classifier for use with online module 214. Thefollowing discussion of the components of offline module 212 areintended for exemplary purposes to demonstrate, in various embodiments,creating a multi-class classifier.

Offline defining component 216 is configured to design a sensitivitydefinition including one or more sensitivity categories and one or moresensitivity subcategories. In various embodiments, by way of example,offline defining component 216 is flexible and configurable, based uponbusiness needs and customer requirements. For instance, withoutlimitation, offline defining component 216 may create a detaileddefinition of what will be considered as sensitive and not sensitive. Invarious embodiments, without limitation, offline defining component 216may create the following sensitivity categories: sex, accident, crime,human rights/abuse, terrorism and war, weapon, and others. In theseembodiments, each sensitivity category except the others category hastwo subcategories for sensitive and non-sensitive material (e.g. thecrime category may have two subcategories: crime—sensitive, andcrime—non-sensitive). As will be understood and appreciated by one ofordinary skill in the art, using the categories and subcategoriesdefined by offline defining component 216, sensitive webpage contentdetection engine 204 may be able to categorize webpages. For instance,without limitation, all pages mentioning sex will be put into the sexcategory. Inappropriate pages may be subcategorized as sex—sensitive,while pages such as sex education pages may be subcategorized assex—non-sensitive. Similarly, in various other embodiments, a new pagediscussing a recently perpetrated crime may be subcategorized ascrime—sensitive, while pages discussing crime prevention and safetyawareness may be subcategorized as crime—non-sensitive. An exemplarytable including various category definitions along with sensitive andnon-sensitive subcategories is provided:

SEX: A pornographic webpage is a page containing sexually explicitmaterial of a non-medical and non-scientific nature. Sex - sensitive:Sexual relationship counseling or advice Explicit discussions of sex andsexuality Sexual orientation issues Nudism Sex chat rooms SexThumbnail/picpost sites Pornographic magazines online Picture galleriesPornographic fiction Phone sex/live video Adult services; escortservices; strippers; professional mistresses Adult personal ads;adult-themed dating services Sex toys; marital aids; videos; CD-ROMs;books; fetish clothing; sex products Discussions or descriptions ofsexual techniques or exercises Political, legal, or governmental issuesrelating to pornography News or journalism about pornography Literaturethat touches on sexual themes Sex - non-sensitive: Sex education Diseaseprevention Scholarly or journalistic discussion of sex-related topics orthemes Medical discussion of sex, anatomy, sexually-transmitted disease,birth control, men's and women's health issues Non-sexual relationshipadvice Art nudes WEAPONS: Weapons pages are those pages which sell,review, or describe weapons such as guns, knives, or martial artsdevices, or promote information on their use, accessories, ormodification. Weapons - sensitive: Guns, ammunition, and accessoriesOnline catalogue of guns, ammunition, and accessories Online magazinesabout guns and shooting Concealed weapon resources Knives, swords, andother edged weapons Discount hunting knives, swords, etc. Fightingknives Martial arts weaponry Homemade weapons Books about how to makeguns and other weapons at home Descriptions of how to build ormanufacture guns or ammunition Weapons - non-sensitive: SecondAmendment/gun rights groups; anti-gun control groups; NRA; SecondAmendment Society; Gun Owners of America Comparison of American gun lawsGun control groups and resources; information on gun laws Historicalreproductions Native American weapons Society for Creative AnachronismScholarly or historical work on weapons and their development, uses, ormanufacturing, including research on specific topics or weaponsNews/journalism about gun or weapon related issues ACCIDENTS: Accidentspages are oases such as news articles, analysis, or commentary on eventsresulting in fatalities. Accidents - sensitive: Natural disastersVehicle crashes Household accidents Accidents - non-sensitive: Minorinjuries Non-fatal, major injuries Sports injuries Natural disasterpreparedness Injury prevention and precautions Injury treatment CRIME:Crime pages are pages such as news articles, analysis, or commentary onillegal activity. Crime - sensitive: Arson Assault Battery BlackmailBurglary Child abuse Counterfeiting Drug possession EmbezzlementEspionage Extortion Forgery Fraud/deception Homicide Identity theftIllegal gambling Inchoate offenses Kidnapping Larceny Looting Motorvehicle theft Perjury Rape Robbery Sexual assaults Smuggling StalkingTax evasion Theft Trespass Vandalism Weapon possession MolestationTorture Crime - non-sensitive: Crime prevention Precautions againstcrime HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE: Human rights abuse pages are pages such asnews articles, analysis, or commentary on human rights abuse. Humanrights abuse - sensitive: Human rights violations Molestation RapeTorture Abuse Massacre Genocide Slavery Human rights abuse -non-sensitive: Geneva Convention Human rights monitoring TERRORISM ANDWAR: Terrorism and war pages are pages such as news articles, analysis,or commentary on terrorism and war includ- ing anti-social pages thatadvocates or provides instructions for political violence, socialthreats, and coordinated attacks. A sensitive war pate is a site whichpromotes or otherwise encourages waging war for causing harm tocivilians or property. Terrorism and war - sensitive: Weapons of massdestruction Bombs Hostage-taking Torture Abuse Massacre GenocideIncidents Violence Weapons and ammunition Prisoners of war DeathTerrorism and war - non-sensitive: Military uniforms Military strategyMilitary history Historic battlefields Military figures Military bandsEnrolling in the armed forces Reserve forces

The above discussion is intended for exemplary purposes only andembodiments of the present invention are not limited to a particularsensitivity category and sensitivity subcategory configuration andvarious embodiments may include additional categories and subcategories.Additionally, various embodiments may not include each of the categoriesand subcategories mentioned in the exemplary discussion above. All suchcombinations and permutations of category and subcategory configurationsare contemplated and within the scope of the present invention. Thecategorization of specific webpages will be discussed in more detailherein with regard to various other components of the sensitive webpagecontent detection engine 204.

Offline gathering component 218 is configured to gather one or moretraining webpages. In various embodiments, without limitation, offlinegathering component will collect sample webpages from the Internet andplace each webpage into corresponding sensitivity categories andsensitivity subcategories. For example, without limitation, to obtaincrime prevention related training webpages, a query may be submitted toa search engine and the top 500 ranked webpages may be collected. Invarious embodiments, without limitation, human reviewers may go throughthe pages and pick the pages that are relevant to crime prevention.These selected pages may be part of the training webpages for, by way ofexample, the crime—non-sensitive subcategory.

Offline extracting component 220 is configured to extract terms and/orphrases from the training webpages. In various embodiments, offlineextracting component 220 extracts the terms and phrases for use byoffline module 212 in developing a multi-class classifier. Morespecifically, the terms and phrases extracted by offline extractingcomponent 220 are considered by offline weight computing component 222,which is configured to compute a weight for each of the terms andphrases. In various embodiments, the weight of each term and phrase iscomputed based upon how many times the term or phrase appears within awebpage. Additionally, in various embodiments, the weight of each termand phrase is computed based upon the location and font of the term orphrase. For example, without limitation, where a term appears a numberof times within a webpage, that term may be given a higher weight than aterm appearing only once within a webpage. Similarly, by way of example,without limitation, a phrase appearing at the top of a webpage, or aphrase appearing in an alternative font (e.g. larger font, bold, italic,underlined, etc.) may be given a higher weight than a phrase appearingwithin the body text of the webpage. As will be understood andappreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the offline weightcomputing component 222 is flexible and may be configured to computeweights for various terms and/or phrases based upon the market needs forsensitive webpage content detection engine 204. In various embodiments,by way of example, each webpage may be represented as a vector of termsor phrases and weights. For example, without limitation, each webpagemay be represented as: <term1: weight1, term2: weight2, phrase3: weight3, . . . >.

Offline determining component 224 is configured to determine anassociation between the terms and/or phrases and the sensitivitycategories and is further configured to determine an association betweenthe terms and/or phrases and the sensitivity subcategories. Aspreviously discussed with reference to offline gathering component 218,in various embodiments, the training webpages have already beenassociated with sensitivity categories and sensitivity subcategories byhuman reviewers. Thus, in various embodiments, the purpose of offlinedetermining component 224 is to learn associations of terms and/orphrases to each sensitivity category and/or subcategory to develop andmulti-class classifier for use with online module 214. In variousembodiments, the associations may be interpreted as rules. Thus, invarious embodiments, by way of example, offline component 224 is furtherconfigured to associate training webpages with sensitivity categoriesand/or subcategories using rules applied to the term or the phrase. Forinstance, without limitation, the rule may be: if the term “sex” appearsin a webpage more than three times, and the term “nude” appears morethan twice, the probability of this webpage belonging to a sex—sensitivesubcategory is 0.8. In another example, without limitation, the rule maybe: if the term “sex” appears in a webpage more than three times, andthe phrase “sex education” appears more than once, the probability ofthis webpage belonging to a sex—non-sensitive subcategory is 0.9. Thus,as will be understood and appreciated by one of ordinary skill in theart, a logistic regression classifier is built in which theseassociations are represented as mathematical formulae. For example,without limitation, given a webpage, its probability of belonging to aspecific sensitivity category/subcategory may be represented as:

Probability(category|webpage)˜exp(X*W)

where X is the vector of terms/phrases for the specific webpage and W isthe vector of weights of terms/phrases for the specific category. Thus,in this example, given a webpage, the category and/or subcategory withthe highest value of Probability (category|webpage) is the predictedcategory and/or subcategory. As will be understood and appreciated byone of ordinary skill in the art, a multi-class classifier may becreated by offline module 212 based upon the association of content invarious training webpages. The multi-class classifier created by offlinemodule 212 may be stored, for instance, in association with database202, and may be used by sensitive webpage content detection engine 204in conjunction with online module 214.

Having described development of a multi-class classifier to detectwebpage content sensitivity with reference to offline module 212,implementing webpage content sensitivity detection will be describedherein with reference to online module 214. Online module 214 isconfigured to analyze one or more webpages and to predict a sensitivitylevel associated with the webpage content of the one or more webpages.Online module 214 includes online receiving component 226, onlineextracting component 228, online weight computing component 230, onlineprobability computing component 232, and online sensitivity predictioncomponent 234. In various embodiments, online module 214 uses themulti-class classifier created by offline module 212, allowing sensitivewebpage content detection engine 204 to predict the sensitivity ofcontent associated with various webpages.

Online receiving component 226 is configured to receive one or morewebpages. In various embodiments, the webpages may include various typesof content. By way of example, without limitation, the webpage may be anews article, a page of a personal website, or a page of a websiteoperated by a business. One of ordinary skill in the art will understandand appreciate that various types of webpages may be received by onlinereceiving component 226. By way of further example, without limitation,the webpage may be a page from a blog or an online forum.

Online extracting component 228 is configured to extract terms and/orphrases from the webpage content of the one or more webpages received byonline receiving component 226. In various embodiments, onlineextracting component 228 may function similarly to offline extractingcomponent 220 discussed previously. More specifically, the terms andphrases extracted by online extracting component 228 may be consideredby online weight computing component 230 (which also may functionsimilarly to offline weight computing component 222), which isconfigured to compute a weight for each of the terms and/or phrases. Invarious embodiments, for example, the weight of each term and phrase maybe computed based upon how many times the term and/or phrase appearswithin a webpage. Additionally, in various embodiments, the weight ofeach term and/or phrase is computed based upon the location and font ofthe term and/or phrase. For example, without limitation, where a termappears a number of times within a webpage, that term may be given ahigher weight than a term appearing only once within a webpage.Similarly, by way of example, without limitation, a phrase appearing atthe top of a webpage, or a phrase appearing in an alternative font (e.g.larger font, bold, italic, underlined, etc.) may be given a higherweight than a phrase appearing within the body text of the webpage. Aswill be understood and appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art,the offline weight computing component 222 is flexible and may beconfigured to compute weights for various terms and/or phrases basedupon the market needs for sensitive webpage content detection engine204. In various embodiments, by way of example, each webpage may berepresented as a vector of terms or phrases and weights. For example,without limitation, each webpage may be represented as: <term1: weight1,term2: weight2, phrase3: weight 3, . . . >.

Online probability computing component 232 is configured to compute anassociation probability between the one or more webpages received byonline receiving component 226 and the one or more sensitivitycategories and/or subcategories defined by offline defining component216 of offline module 212. In various embodiments, online probabilitycomputing component 232 uses the multi-class classifier developed byoffline module 212 to compute the probability of the received pagebelonging to each sensitivity category and/or sensitivity subcategory.Online sensitivity prediction component 234 is configured to associateeach of the one or more webpages with at least one predicted sensitivitycategory and/or subcategory. In various embodiments, without limitation,the category and/or subcategory with the highest probability will be thepredicted category or subcategory. Further, in various embodiments,online sensitivity prediction component 234 is configured to provide aconfidence score. For example, without limitation, the confidence scoremay be the probability value of the predicted category and/orsubcategory.

It will be understood and appreciated by those of ordinary skill in theart that additional components not shown may also be included within anyof system 200, database 202, sensitive webpage content detection engine204, and user interface 208.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a flow diagram of an exemplary method forsensitive webpage content detection, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention, is illustrated and designated generally asreference numeral 300. Initially, as indicated at block 312, webpagesare received, e.g., by receiving component 226 of online module 214 ofFIG. 2. As previously discussed with reference to FIG. 2, the receivedwebpages may be various type of webpages. For instance, withoutlimitation, the received webpages may be a news article, a page from apersonal website, a page from a business website, a blog page, or aforum page, among others. Various types of webpages are contemplated andwithin the scope of the present invention.

Next, as indicated at block 314, webpages are analyzed with amulti-class classifier, e.g., by online module 214 of FIG. 2. In variousembodiments, without limitation, terms and/or phrases are extracted fromthe webpages, e.g., by online extracting component 228 of FIG. 2, foranalysis. Analysis may include, in various embodiments, weighing thevarious terms and/or phrases, e.g., with online weight computingcomponent 230, and determining the probability that the webpages areassociated with each category and/or subcategory of the multi-classclassifier, e.g., with online probability computing component 232 ofFIG. 2. Thus, as will be understood and appreciated by one of ordinaryskill in the art, webpages are analyzed according to the content withinthe webpage (as opposed to being analyzed by the www address associatedwith the URL or the name of the page).

Next, as indicated at block 316, a sensitivity level is predicted, e.g.,by online sensitivity prediction component 234 of online module 214 ofFIG. 2. In various embodiments, without limitation, the sensitivitylevel is predicted using sensitivity categories and/or sensitivitysubcategories, e.g., the categories defined by offline definingcomponent 216 of FIG. 2. The sensitivity category and/or sensitivitysubcategory with the highest probability associated with each webpagemay be the predicted category and/or subcategory in various embodiments.For example, without limitation, where an analyzed webpage includescontent indicating a highest probability that the content is associatedwith a crime—sensitive subcategory, the sensitivity level of the webpagewill be predicted as crime—sensitive. One of ordinary skill in the artwill understand and appreciate that the sensitivity categories and/orsubcategories discussed herein are not limited to a category/subcategoryconfiguration. For example, without limitation, various embodiments ofthe present invention may only have categories and not have anysubcategories. Further, by way of example, without limitation, one ofordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate can be used byadvertisers to tailor advertising based upon webpage content. Forinstance, an advertiser may have an online content-based advertisementscheme that targets consumers based upon webpage content. Theadvertiser, however, may wish to maintain a particular image and may notwant to be associated with webpages displaying certain content, such assex. Using the sensitivity level, the advertiser can ensure that itsadvertisements are not displayed in association with any webpage havinginappropriate sexual content. Thus, in this example, the advertiser canavail itself of the benefits of content-based advertising whilemaintaining the image it desires.

Turning now to FIG. 4 a flow diagram of an exemplary method forsensitive webpage content detection, the method having more detail thanthe method of FIG. 3, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, is illustrated and designated generally as reference numeral400. Initially, as indicated at block 410, a sensitivity definitionincluding sensitivity categories is designed, e.g., by offline definingcomponent 216 of offline module 212 of FIG. 2. As previously stated withreference to FIG. 2, in various embodiments, sensitivity categories maybe created based upon potentially sensitive webpage content. In variousembodiments the sensitivity categories are dynamic. For instance,without limitation, the sensitivity categories may be expanded toinclude more content or contracted to be less sensitive based uponbusiness interests of a customer. Further, by way of example, withoutlimitation, sensitivity categories may be added or removed andsubcategories may be created for some or all of the sensitivitycategories.

Next, as indicated at block 412, a query is sent to a search engine fortraining webpages, e.g., by gathering component 218 of offline module212 of FIG. 2. In various embodiments, training webpages are used duringthe development of the multi-class classifier and, therefore, trainingwebpages should be of a type associated with on or more of the definedsensitivity categories. By way of example, without limitation, where oneof the sensitivity categories is crime, a search query of crime may besubmitted and the top 500 returned results may be used as trainingwebpages.

Next, as indicated at block 414, the query results are reviewed forrelevance, e.g., by offline gathering component 218 of offline module212 of FIG. 2. In various embodiments, relevance is used to determinewhether a webpage would be appropriately associated with one or more ofthe defined categories. By way of example, without limitation, if thewebpage is not relevant to the sensitivity categories, it may be ofminimal value during development of the multi-class classifier. Invarious embodiments, the association between the training webpages andthe sensitivity categories is determined by human reviewers. Stateddifferently, by way of example, without limitation, the trainingwebpages association with the categories is known prior to steps 416,418, and 420 described herein. Thus, in various embodiments, with aknown association between the training webpages and the sensitivitycategories, content information from the training websites is extractedand analyzed in order to develop a model multi-class classifier.

Next, as indicated at block 416, terms and phrases are extracted fromthe training webpages, e.g., by offline extracting component 220 ofoffline module 212 of FIG. 2. As previously stated, in variousembodiments, this content information is used to develop a multi-classclassifier. Next, as indicated at block 418, a weight is computed foreach term and/or phrase, e.g., by offline weight computing component 222of offline module 212 of FIG. 2. As previously stated, in variousembodiments, the weight for each term and/or phrase may be computedbased upon the frequency of the term and/or phrase in the webpage andmay also be based upon the size and font of the term and/or phrase.Next, as indicated at block 420, an association is determined betweenthe term and/or phrase and the sensitivity categories, e.g., by offlinedetermining component 224 of offline module 212 of FIG. 2. As previouslystated, in various embodiments, the association between the term and/orphrase and the sensitivity categories is used to develop a modelmulti-class classifier. For example, using the associations, rules maybe created for the multi-class classifier for use by, e.g., onlinemodule 214 of FIG. 2. One of ordinary skill in the art will understandand appreciate that rules may involve various properties including,without limitation, the frequency of terms or phrases in a webpage,their correlation to other terms and/or phrases, their size and font,etc. Various combinations of rules using webpage content information inassociation with sensitivity categories are contemplated and within thescope of the present invention.

Next, as indicated at block 422, webpages are received, e.g., by onlinereceiving component 226 of online module 214 of FIG. 2. As previouslystated, in various embodiments, various types of webpage and webpagecontent are contemplated and within the scope of the present invention.Next, as indicated at block 424, terms and phrases are extracted fromthe webpages, e.g., by online extracting component 228 of online module214 of FIG. 2. In various embodiments, the terms and/or phrases may beextracted from the webpage content in a similar manner to block 416discussed previously. In various embodiments, without limitation, notevery term and/or phrase in the webpage is extracted. For instance,without limitation, in various embodiments only the terms relevant tothe defined sensitivity categories may be extracted. Various levels ofterm and/or phrase extraction are contemplated and within the scope ofthe present invention. Next, as indicated at block 426, a weight iscomputed for each term and phrase, e.g., by online weight computingcomponent 230 of online module 214 of FIG. 2. In various embodiments,the terms and/or phrases may be weighted in a manner similar to block418 discussed previously.

Next, as indicated at block 428, an association probability is computedbetween the webpages and the sensitivity categories, e.g., by onlineprobability computing component 232 of online module 214 of FIG. 2. Aspreviously stated with reference to FIG. 2, in various embodiments theassociation probability may be computed using a set of pre-defined rulesin the multi-class classifier. Next, as indicated at block 430, eachwebpage is associated with one or more sensitivity categories and, asindicated at block 432, each webpage is associated with a confidencescore, e.g., by online sensitivity prediction component 234 of onlinemodule 214 of FIG. 2. As previously stated with reference to FIG. 2, thepredicted associated sensitivity category may be, in variousembodiments, the sensitivity category with the highest associationprobability. Further, in various embodiments, the confidence score maybe the normalized association probability for the sensitivity category.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a flow diagram of an exemplary method forsensitive webpage content detection utilizing sensitivity categories, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, is illustratedand designated generally as reference numeral 500. As previouslydiscussed with reference to FIG. 3, a multi-class classifier isdeveloped at block 510 and webpages are received at block 512. Invarious embodiments, without limitation, the multi-class classifierincludes sensitivity categories. Further, as previously discussed withreference to FIG. 4, webpages are associated with sensitivity categoriesat block 514 and a confidence score is computed for each webpage and itscorresponding one or more sensitivity categories at block 516. Using theassociation information between the webpage and the one or moresensitivity categories, combined with the confidence score computed foreach webpage, a webpage sensitivity is predicted at block 518. One ofordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate that in variousembodiments, based upon the confidence score, it is determined whetheror not to deliver an advertisement to a webpage. For instance, withoutlimitation, even where a webpage is categorized into a sensitivecategory, if the confidence score associated with the sensitivity issufficiently low (depending upon business circumstances and marketdesires), an advertisement may still be displayed.

In each of the exemplary methods described herein, various combinationsand permutations of the described blocks or steps may be present andadditional steps may be added. Further, one or more of the describedblocks or steps may be absent from various embodiments. It iscontemplated and within the scope of the present invention that thecombinations and permutations of the described exemplary methods, aswell as any additional or absent steps, may occur. The various methodsare herein described for exemplary purposes only and are in no wayintended to limit the scope of the present invention.

The present invention has been described herein in relation toparticular embodiments, which are intended in all respects to beillustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to which thepresent invention pertains without departing from its scope.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain the ends and objects set forth above, together withother advantages which are obvious and inherent to the methods,computer-readable media, and graphical user interfaces. It will beunderstood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility andmay be employed without reference to other features andsub-combinations. This is contemplated by and within the scope of theclaims.

1. A computer-implemented method for sensitive webpage contentdetection, comprising: receiving one or more webpages with webpagecontent; analyzing the one or more webpages with a multi-classclassifier; and predicting a sensitivity level associated with thewebpage content of the one or more webpages.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the multi-class classifier is developed by the steps comprising:designing a sensitivity definition including one or more sensitivitycategories and one or more sensitivity subcategories; gathering one ormore training webpages for each of the one or more sensitivitycategories and the one or more sensitivity subcategories; and building alogistical regression model.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein buildinga logistical regression model comprises: extracting at least one of aterm and a phrase from the one or more training webpages; computing aweight for each of the at least one of a term and a phrase; determiningan association between the at least one of a term and a phrase and theone or more sensitivity categories; and determining an associationbetween the at least one of a term and a phrase and the one or moresensitivity subcategories.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the weightfor each of the at least one of a term and a phrase is computed basedupon at least one of the frequency, location, and font of the at leastone of a term and a phrase within each of the one or more trainingwebpages.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more trainingwebpages are associated with at least one of the one or more sensitivitycategories and the one or more sensitivity subcategories based upon aprobability determination.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein gatheringone or more training webpages for each of the one or more sensitivitycategories and the one or more sensitivity subcategories comprises:sending a query to a search engine; and reviewing one or more resultsreturned by the search engine for relevance, wherein reviewing one ormore results returned by the search engine for relevance is done by oneor more human reviewers.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing theone or more webpages with the multi-class classifier comprises:extracting at least one of a term and a phrase from the webpage contentof the one or more webpages; computing a weight for each of the at leastone of a term and a phrase; computing an association probability betweenthe one or more webpages and the one or more sensitivity categoriesusing the logistical regression model; and computing an associationprobability between the one or more webpages and the one or moresensitivity subcategories using the logistical regression model.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the weight for each of the at least one of aterm and a phrase is computed based upon at least one of the frequency,location, and font of the at least one of a term and phrase within thewebpage content of the one or more webpages.
 9. The method of claim 7,wherein predicting a sensitivity level associated with the webpagecontent of the one or more webpages comprises: associating each of theone or more webpages with at least one predicted category, wherein theat least one predicted category is at least one of the one or moresensitivity categories and the one or more sensitivity subcategories.10. The method of claim 9, wherein predicting a sensitivity levelassociated with the webpage content of the one or more webpages furthercomprises: associating each of the one or more webpages with at leastone confidence score corresponding with the at least one predictedcategory, wherein the confidence score is based upon the associationprobability between the one or more webpages and the one or moresensitivity categories, and wherein the confidence score is furtherbased upon the association probability between the one or more webpagesand the one or more sensitivity subcategories.
 11. A computerized systemfor sensitive webpage content detection, the system comprising: anoffline module configured to develop a multi-class classifier; an onlinemodule configured to analyze one or more webpages including webpagecontent and further configured to predict a sensitivity level associatedwith the webpage content of the one or more webpages; and a database forstoring information from the offline module and the online module. 12.The system of claim 11, wherein the offline module comprises: an offlinedefining component configured to design a sensitivity definitionincluding one or more sensitivity categories and one or more sensitivitysubcategories; an offline gathering component configured to gather oneor more training webpages; an offline extracting component configured toextract at least one of a term and a phrase from the one or moretraining webpages; an offline weight computing component configured tocompute a weight for each of the at least one of a term and a phrase;and an offline determining component configured to determine anassociation between the at least one of a term and a phrase and the oneor more sensitivity categories and further configured to determine anassociation between the at least one of a term and a phrase and the oneor more sensitivity subcategories.
 13. The system of claim 12, whereinthe offline determining component is further configured to associate theone or more training webpages with at least one of the one or moresensitivity categories and the one or more sensitivity subcategoriesusing rules applied to the at least one of a term and a phrase.
 14. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the online module comprises: an onlinereceiving component configured to receive one or more webpages includingwebpage content; an online extracting component configured to extract atleast one of a term and a phrase from the webpage content of the one ormore webpages; an online weight computing component configured tocompute a weight for each of the at least one of a term and a phrase; anonline probability computing component configured to compute anassociation probability between the one or more webpages and the one ormore sensitivity categories and further configured to compute anassociation probability between the one or more webpages and the one ormore sensitivity subcategories; and an online sensitivity predictioncomponent configured to associate each of the one or more webpages withat least one predicted category, wherein the at least one predictedcategory is at least one of the one or more sensitivity categories andthe one or more sensitivity subcategories.
 15. The system of claim 14,wherein the online sensitivity prediction component is furtherconfigured to provide a confidence score.
 16. One or more computerreadable media having instructions embodied thereon that, when executed,perform a method for sensitive webpage content detection, the methodcomprising: developing a multi-class classifier with one or moresensitivity categories; receiving one or more webpages with webpagecontent; associating the one or more webpages with one or more of theone or more sensitivity categories by computing an associationprobability between the one or more webpages and the one or moresensitivity categories; computing a confidence score based upon theassociation probability between the one or more webpages and the one ormore sensitivity categories; and predicting a webpage sensitivity. 17.The computer readable media of claim 16, wherein the one or morewebpages exist within a content advertisement environment, and whereinit is determined, using the webpage sensitivity, whether it would beappropriate to display particular advertisements in association with theone or more webpages.
 18. The computer readable media of claim 16,wherein the one or more webpages exist within a content advertisementenvironment, and wherein it is determined, using the webpagesensitivity, whether the webpage content on the one or more webpages hastime-dependent sensitivity, requiring customization of an advertisementdelivery system to target particular advertisements in association withthe one or more webpages.
 19. The computer readable media of claim 16,wherein the one or more webpages exist within a parental controlenvironment, and wherein it is determined, using the webpagesensitivity, whether to display the one or more webpages based upon aset of content control instructions in the parental control environment.20. The computer readable media of claim 16, wherein the one or morewebpages includes at least one of a blog website and a forum website,and wherein it is determined, using the webpage sensitivity, whether todisplay one or more submissions on the at least one of a blog websiteand a forum website based upon a set of administrative instructions.